Page 67 of Don't Go Faking My Heart

Where you've been informs who you are.

My dad has said something like that a time or two. A memory hits me like the back of a hand. Me standing in the bar on the day of my sister's funeral, chest heaving, hand bruised and broken. Arlo laying there with a broken, bloodied nose laughing. "You think you're so much better than me, but you can't escape who you are. I turned out just like my daddy, and so will you."

I drop my head, hoping Ash doesn't see the tightness in my eyes. "I don't want to be password protected," I say. "Not with you."

"Then start at the beginning," Ash says.

I swallow hard. "The beginning?"

"Yes! I want a full accounting of everything from T-ball through college, and if you leave out a single thing, I'll ask Mrs. Beaty."

Sonny is at the counter and hands us some tickets, having bought them for everyone the way multi-millionaires do. But he hands us waivers, too.

"Looks like there's some kind of participation option," Sonny says. "If you sign the waiver, you can get onto the ice, or something."

"Or something," I say.

A voice from the ticket window next to ours cuts over our conversation. "We can really get on the ice? Is this some kind of exhibition game?"

We all turn our heads to see Philip standing a few feet from us. He's pretending he doesn't know we're here, but there's no reason to speak so loudly in our direction when he should speak in the direction of the glass.

"Yup," the girl behind the counter says. "You gotta sign the waiver."

"I played hockey for years," he says, signing the paper.

"Wow. Someone who played hockey going to an ice rink. What will they think of next?" the girl behind the ticket counter says. Our group snorts.

Philip says something quietly to the woman beside him, and Ash's hands tighten in mine.

Philip has brought a date.

Is Ash jealous? Please tell me she's not jealous. Her face looks pained, though, and I can’t imagine what else could cause her?—

"He's only gonna be here for a couple of weeks," Lou says softly to Ash. "He'll be gone before he can play head games with her. She’ll barely have time to even wonder if he'll call her again."

I want to shake myself for how petty I am. I was worried that Ash was jealous, but she's worried that Philip is going to do what he did to her to that girl. Maybe Philip flew some girl out for the weekend, but it's more likely that she’s local, and the idea of Philip playing with her mind like he did Ash's eats at me. Sure, he may only be here for a couple of weeks, but if we lose the chamber of commerce accounts, he could be here for a lot longer.

I wasn't planning to sign the waiver, but I do. Fast. I hand it up to Sonny. "You're signing, too," I tell him and Tripp.

Especially Tripp.

Duke waves his hands. "Nope. My contract won't let me."

"Aw, poor Baby Duke can't have fun like the rest of us," Sonny says. Since he voluntarily retired from the NFL after winning the Carolina Waves the Superbowl, he's been relishing all the things he can now do, like snowboarding, rollerblading, and pickleball (the guy is obsessed with pickleball). And now, Double H hockey.

Sonny signs it fast, but Tripp gives me a long look. "Are you sure about this?"

"Positive."

Tripp signs.

"All right, eh," Sonny says in a thick Canadian accent. "Let's go play some hockey."

Tripp squeezes Sonny's shoulder. "Don't get ahead of yourself, buddy."

Fifteen minutes later, our friends are in our seats while Sonny, Tripp, and I are in pads and uniforms on the bench along with nine other guys. Turns out, knowing everyone around here gives me some perks, because I managed to make sure the three of us are on the same team and Philip isn't.

The arena is kept at a chilly 58 degrees, but here on the ice, it's colder. The barn seats about 5,000 people, making it one of the smaller arenas in the East Coast Hockey League, but it always fills up. Mullet Ridge cares a lot about their sports.

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